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River

Wasi River

Class

Cascade

Size

Medium

Visitability

Average

Accessibility

Free/Private

Activity

Quiet

Walk Time

3min

Trail

Moderate

Gorge Access

Difficult

Other Trails

few

County

Parry Sound

From North Bay, go south on Hwy 11 to Secondary Hwy 654. Turn right (west) and drive for 0.5 km to Wasi Falls Rd. Follow this road to the end at the iron gates leading to a private residence. When I visited in 2003, a sign said that you were allowed to leave your car on the road and WALK along the private driveway to the falls. PLEASE! Treat this property with respect to ensure that the landowners continue to allow us to visit.

Settlement

Callander

NTS Map

Easting

625420

Northing

5117460

UTM Zone

This is an interesting waterfall located on private property. Fortunately, the landowner has given permission for people to visit the waterfall. They are to be commended for this, since many, many other falls are located on private property posted with "No Trespassing" signs. SPECIAL NOTE: Please be quiet when you visit this waterfall, and visit only the waterfall, not the landowner's front porch or yard! As such, the exploration potential of this (from land at least) is limited.

Wasi Falls is located where the Wasi River empties into Lake Nipissing. It is about 7 or 8 m in height and from 5 to 15 m in width, depending on the discharge in the river. At low to moderately high flow, the water constricts to the right side of the river (looking downstream), and pours through a narrow notch in the bedrock into a foaming jacuzzi-like pit. From here, the water flows downstream through some rapids, before sliding over a 2 m high slide-class falls right into to Lake.

This isn't a large waterfall, but at average flow you should expect to feel the spray if you opt to photograph it from the bottom as I did. Use caution around this falls. While it can be safely viewed from the top, the rocks at the bottom can be slippery, and there are no fences. If you are quiet and careful, you can follow a weak path along the edge of the river to a the small ramp-class waterfall right at the edge of Lake Nipissing. Please respect the privacy of the house and its residents.

The site was settled in 1880s when lumbering operations were at a peak. A log slide was built to divert logs around the falls. The settlement was originally known as Wisa Wasa, and was heavily influenced by development by J.R. Booth, one of Canada's well known railway pioneers. The area where the river flows in to the lake is reported to be a major spawning area for Pike and Pickeral.